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Auckland food guide

We noticed it purely because it was only a block away from where we were staying. Then we were reminded when we saw their delivery guys scooting around Queen St on sedgeways. So on Saturday after the Waiheke trip we went down for a couple of slices. Neither of us were hungry enough to order a whole 18 inch pizza and they don’t do any other sizes. Luckily for us they sell individual slices though and we had one piece each of veggie and pepperoni. It was delish. Comparable to Wholly Pizzas, but I kind of preferred Sal’s because the base was crispy and the tomato sauce just a little richer.

The place is set up New York styles, with a few booths but most of their customers walking in and taking away slices. Business was booming when we were there and Lee suggested that a similar set up could do well on Courtenay Place.
Tony’s Steak and Seafood

We went here because my buddy Jay recommended the steak there. We went for a late dinner after seeing Toy Story 3 at the Imax and neither of us were Hella hungry. Also Lee balked at the price of steaks which you are not getting at a two for one rate. We ordered a seafood platter to share and then had room for dessert after it. Regular readers of this blog may recall that Lee and I have a certain fondness for platters of the seafood variety and although this one was good, my all time favourite is still the one at Mooloolaba. It was very good though: mussels, oysters, prawns, (very good) smoked fish, battered fish, boiled new potatoes and scallops.

For dessert Lee and I went classic kiwi: he ordered pavlova, I got brandy snaps. Both were excellent. Restaurant wise the service was friendly and the surroundings charmingly over-decorated. I was put in mind of an upmarket Cobb and Co.

OK so we go here every time. Well, it’s because it’s really really good! And there are 3L cans of Asahi. Lee and I took Fraser there on the one night he was in Auckland last week.

The ‘Scallop boat’ special is amazing. Like really really amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever had a better scallop. This is not the Asahi talking. I am typing this while completely sober. On the other hand, I can’t remember what the flavours were, and I’ll blame the Asahi for that. There was a bunch of red salsa-ish deliciousness stacked on top of scallops that were barbequed to perfection.

We also had some kind of awesome steakish meat on a skewer which I really enjoyed as well as the usual takoyaki, garlic skewers, chicken, etc. I was careful to eat more than I usually would of the salads and spinach to keep it healthy.
We ordered our customary 3L can of Asahi and were pleasantly surprised when a further third of a can was donated to us. A party of middle aged people were moving on and hadn’t got through their’s. Nice. It meant the boys got drunk enough to agree to Karaoke when I suggested it. Ha ha ha.

Alphabet Bistro

Parnell has heaps of places to eat and Lee had been to this place on a business trip. The reason he wanted to go back was the continental brunch and that’s what we both ordered. You get a big plate with a few strips of grilled ham, some slices of Swiss cheese, a soft boiled egg, Turkish bread, jam, a bowl of fruit salad and some butter. It’s amazing. I can’t really describe how amazing…you just have to trust me. The food is so simple, but it’s done so well and it feels like you’re eating something that’s really good for you. You can vary the flavours so easily and the portions are all perfect. Love.